Rating: 
Summary: A nice, pleasant look back....
Review: I could have written this book...same time, almost same circumstances, same outcome. My practically perfect spouse of 15 years brought this book home from the library for me...and he probably didn't know what kind of havoc he was unleashing when he got it. I had a "Jimmy" in my past...maybe we all do. I enjoyed the book and was happy when Emily decided not to disrupt everyone's lives to chase her fantasy. This is a book for anyone with a past....
Rating: 
Summary: A Great "what if" Book
Review: Emily feels neglected (she is), James feels he made some wrong choices (he did). But Emily carries "what if" one step further. She looks James up on the internet and phones him. He was her first love and they thought they had a future together until he went into the Marines and then to Vietnam. They arrange to meet each other for a weekend in Washington,DC. It's a little (a lot) unrealistic that their spouses don't put up more of a fuss but I guess if they did, the book would have been much shorter. In any case, they DO meet again and then it REALLY gets interesting. If you like a book about relationships and second chances, you won't go wrong with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Can you ever go back again? A heartwarming tale.
Review: Emily Hudson has a settled life. He husband is successful, her children happy, and she is able to pursue her love of painting. She is haunted by the memories of her first love, Jimmy Moran. They spent one wonderful year together, until Jimmy was shipped out to book camp, and then left for Vietnam. The memories of a brief meeting, between bootcamp and Vietnam haunt Emily, and she wonders what if? Jimmy has his own life, married and father of one. His quiet life is inturrupted when Emily contacts him. They decide to meet, Emily expalaining she needs help with a series of paintings she is beginning. The story alternates between the two of them, telling of the memories, the indecision, the fallout with family. There is so much truth in the emotions described, the thoughts you have at certain points in life, "is this how it was meant to be, what if I had followed my first love"? This is a masterful first novel, giving voice to an emotion that many of us have when we reach midlife. Stephanie Gertler has crafted a wonderful story of trying to return to your first love. That time when you were so alive with love and belief that you could face anyrhing together. What rings most true is the characters themselves, the emotions, the choices they eventually make. The characters remain true to the selves we come to know. I was so sad to finish this book, I hope there are more books to follow.
Rating: 
Summary: Evocative women's fiction
Review: First love is often the keenest. For Emily Hudson, the summer of her sixteenth year was bittersweet and painful; it was 1967 and the Vietnam War had roused a nation and filled it with controversy. Emily was only vaguely aware of the ugliness gripping said nation, however. She spent that summer in the throes of first love, you see. Jimmy Moran was a year older than herself, with hair dark as a raven's wing and a smile lurking in his eyes -- only for her, however. She liked to think she could see clear to Jimmy's soul by looking into those eyes. Only she truly understood him, after all. His father had enlisted Jimmy in the Marine Corps; he was due to arrive at boot camp in mere months -- but for one precious summer, Emily was known as Jimmy's girl, and she loved him with all the fervency of youth. War not only bruises a nation, however; it changes a man. In Jimmy Moran's case, it forced a boy to grow into a man far too quickly. Thirty years later, Emily Hudson is a married woman with four children. Her husband, Peter, is a workaholic and has become painfully remote through the years. As a consequence, Emily has been thinking about her first love, Jimmy Moran, more and more of late. She visited the Vietnam Memorial once about sixteen years ago, but couldn't work up the courage to really look at it. What if Jimmy's name was on it? How would she control, and yes, disguise her grief? Looking into the past, and delving into her memories, is more comfortable than confronting the present, though; memories are constant and unchanging. And yet, has she gilded those memories, Emily wonders? She decides to paint a series of paintings depicting the Vietnam War. To ensure authenticity, she needs Jimmy's help and input. Emily is aware her desire to track down her first love is mired in more than artistic whimsy, however. She can't help wondering what might have been; what Jimmy looks like now, if he's even still alive. Deep inside, Emily Hudson is still that sixteen year old girl from long ago, waiting for Jimmy Moran to reclaim her, to re-ignite that spark of first love so bitterly missed. Using the Internet, she takes the first step in arranging a reunion. Jimmy is still alive; and yes, he remembers her, the message on her answering machine claims. Quite vividly, actually. Will two lost souls regain their footing in life by meeting face to face again, thirty years after their last separation? How will they explain such a meeting to their spouses? And why do they feel so passionately about seeing each other again? Whether or not this is a foolhardy journey, tough decisions await Emily and Jim. Stephanie Gertler has a unique voice and writing style: Jimmy's Girl is told from a dual perspective -- where both Emily and Jim relate their experiences through the first person. A reader is also ushered back and forth between the past and the present -- often from one paragraph to the next; although faintly fragmented, this technique suited the tone of the novel quite expertly. I need to make one thing clear, however. Jimmy's Girl is mainstream fiction in the truest sense of the word; don't expect to feel all warm and tingly while reading about Jim's tour of duty in Vietnam. ... Although this novel effortlessly absorbs a reader -- Ms. Gertler wields the power of her prose and some very thought-provoking issues deftly and with great sensitivity -- my heart grew heavier and heavier with each passing page. Jimmy's Girl is a gripping tale of morality that mires a reader in its pathos and drags you down into a damning ethical dilemma. Jim and Emily are victims of more than miscommunication and hopelessness, however. They are victims of the human heart, wanting to travel back in time and recapture their past, only to run into the figurative brick wall. Too little. Too late. Jim and Emily's story will haunt you -- bitterly, sweetly, desperately. As is often the case in real life, closure is more a perception than a reality.
Rating:
Summary: Evocative women's fiction
Review: First love is often the keenest. For Emily Hudson, the summer of her sixteenth year was bittersweet and painful; it was 1967 and the Vietnam War had roused a nation and filled it with controversy. Emily was only vaguely aware of the ugliness gripping said nation, however. She spent that summer in the throes of first love, you see. Jimmy Moran was a year older than herself, with hair dark as a raven's wing and a smile lurking in his eyes -- only for her, however. She liked to think she could see clear to Jimmy's soul by looking into those eyes. Only she truly understood him, after all. His father had enlisted Jimmy in the Marine Corps; he was due to arrive at boot camp in mere months -- but for one precious summer, Emily was known as Jimmy's girl, and she loved him with all the fervency of youth. War not only bruises a nation, however; it changes a man. In Jimmy Moran's case, it forced a boy to grow into a man far too quickly. Thirty years later, Emily Hudson is a married woman with four children. Her husband, Peter, is a workaholic and has become painfully remote through the years. As a consequence, Emily has been thinking about her first love, Jimmy Moran, more and more of late. She visited the Vietnam Memorial once about sixteen years ago, but couldn't work up the courage to really look at it. What if Jimmy's name was on it? How would she control, and yes, disguise her grief? Looking into the past, and delving into her memories, is more comfortable than confronting the present, though; memories are constant and unchanging. And yet, has she gilded those memories, Emily wonders? She decides to paint a series of paintings depicting the Vietnam War. To ensure authenticity, she needs Jimmy's help and input. Emily is aware her desire to track down her first love is mired in more than artistic whimsy, however. She can't help wondering what might have been; what Jimmy looks like now, if he's even still alive. Deep inside, Emily Hudson is still that sixteen year old girl from long ago, waiting for Jimmy Moran to reclaim her, to re-ignite that spark of first love so bitterly missed. Using the Internet, she takes the first step in arranging a reunion. Jimmy is still alive; and yes, he remembers her, the message on her answering machine claims. Quite vividly, actually. Will two lost souls regain their footing in life by meeting face to face again, thirty years after their last separation? How will they explain such a meeting to their spouses? And why do they feel so passionately about seeing each other again? Whether or not this is a foolhardy journey, tough decisions await Emily and Jim. Stephanie Gertler has a unique voice and writing style: Jimmy's Girl is told from a dual perspective -- where both Emily and Jim relate their experiences through the first person. A reader is also ushered back and forth between the past and the present -- often from one paragraph to the next; although faintly fragmented, this technique suited the tone of the novel quite expertly. I need to make one thing clear, however. Jimmy's Girl is mainstream fiction in the truest sense of the word; don't expect to feel all warm and tingly while reading about Jim's tour of duty in Vietnam. ... Although this novel effortlessly absorbs a reader -- Ms. Gertler wields the power of her prose and some very thought-provoking issues deftly and with great sensitivity -- my heart grew heavier and heavier with each passing page. Jimmy's Girl is a gripping tale of morality that mires a reader in its pathos and drags you down into a damning ethical dilemma. Jim and Emily are victims of more than miscommunication and hopelessness, however. They are victims of the human heart, wanting to travel back in time and recapture their past, only to run into the figurative brick wall. Too little. Too late. Jim and Emily's story will haunt you -- bitterly, sweetly, desperately. As is often the case in real life, closure is more a perception than a reality.
Rating: 
Summary: Tripe
Review: First swimming lessons and first loves take place in the shallow end of the pool. Emily and Jimmy never got past the 4 foot mark. Her married life is like playing house, and his is a sullen refusal to get on with it. All because they've nobly carried their torches for 20-odd years. Emily and Jimmie can fantasize themselves as sacrifices, but Stephanie Gertler's competent writing can't make them interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Better than I expected
Review: I bought Jimmy's Girl on line here discounted after reading the reviews, but wasn't sure what to expect. Perhaps because I am in my mid-40's with 3 teens and in a 20 year marriage, the story felt believable. I haven't liked "he said, she said" books in the past (double narrative), but in this case it worked for me. I spent 3 enjoyable late nights reading about Emily and Jimmy and felt pulled into long lost memories and present day realities.
Rating:
Summary: Better than I expected
Review: I bought Jimmy's Girl on line here discounted after reading the reviews, but wasn't sure what to expect. Perhaps because I am in my mid-40's with 3 teens and in a 20 year marriage, the story felt believable. I haven't liked "he said, she said" books in the past (double narrative), but in this case it worked for me. I spent 3 enjoyable late nights reading about Emily and Jimmy and felt pulled into long lost memories and present day realities.
Rating:
Summary: Little to Recomend
Review: I bought this book because of it's supposed similiarity to an author I like. I was very disapointed. The plot line is weak, something you could find in any number of other books. It's poorly written to boot and is not very believable. Two people that are both happily married begin to wonder about the what might have beens. And of course, they have to go off and find out. To predictable and slow moving.
Rating:
Summary: This book was confusing!!!!
Review: I can't say that I didn't like "Jimmy"s Girl." I did like it for the most part...but.....I didn't like the fact that I had to read the same thing 2 chapters in a row. Hearing it once is good enough for me.
|
